This invention pertains to a device for measuring and dispensing particulate materials. The device is designed to lie substantially flat before its first use, to fold quicklY for use in measuring, and to unfold and lie substantially flat between uses. The device can be calibrated depending on the volume and/or the density of the particulate material being measured and dispensed.
The ease of fabrication of this device will recommend it for many uses in which one needs to measure and dispense particulate materials. A specific contemplated use is for measuring and dispensing active ingredients under field conditions. The device can be employed by farmers and other workers who need to add specific amounts of an active ingredient such as a pesticide, e.g., a herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, and the like, or a fertilizer, to water preparatory to spraying fields, crops, and other vegetation. The device is easy to store and carry when not in use. It is readily folded and refolded for repeated use in the field. It eliminates the need for bulky equipment such as scales for weighing the active ingredient particulates.
The device can also be used to measure other types of particulates from foodstuffs to minerals. The devices are sift-proof for accurate measurement of any powder, particulate or granular materials. The incremental graduation of the device can be in units of weight or volume or both. For instance, the outside can be graduated in terms of weight for a specific particulate whose density is known while the inside (viewable through a window) can be graduated by volume, or vice versa.